We're looking for writers like you.

Here's some info on how you can write for The Banquet

Who we are

The Banquet is a community of Christians who love Jesus, care for their neighbor, and and are engaged in social justice issues. While we consider ourselves to be warriors for social justice, we also seek to be peace makers in the world. We attempt not to add to the great divide our country has seen in recent times but to choose the third way -- the way of Jesus.

What you can submit

Each week, members of The Banquet receive an email that has devotional plan for the week, opportunities to support or serve, tips on how to practice the third way in daily conversation, and a personal essay on any topic relating to Jesus, social justice, Christianity, and/or the Bible. Some great topics you might write about, for example, are:

Women in the Bible

The subversive nature of Jesus

A personal experience with God

Our essays are usually poignant and moving, point to Jesus, and help bring our readers closer to God. Funny is always awesome, too. We expect that you will submit high-quality writing without typos. We reserve the right to edit your essay for clarity / length (we like to keep them to about 500-1000 words).

We alternate months, with one month focusing on Old Testament themes and the next month on the New Testament. Upcoming themes for the remainder of 2017 include:

July:The Women of Genesis: Eve, Sarah & Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel & Leah

This series will take a look at these women through a subversive and feminist lens. How is their story narrated? How does God show up for each of these women? How is God's heart for the oppressed and broken represented in these women's stories? Update: The EVE essay has already been assigned. Please consider submitting for one of the other topics.

August: Jesus At The Shore

Jesus did a lot of his work at the seashore. This series will examine those moments at the beach with Jesus.

September: Rabbinic Wisdom: Jesus In The Old Testament

How does the Old Testament point to Jesus? As we look through the Old Testament with a retroactive lens, can we find Jesus there?

October: The Gentile Harvest (On Jesus and Everyone Else)

How does the subversive nature of Jesus allow for gentiles to enter into relationship with God? Examine the grace of the Biblical interactions of Jesus and gentiles in this submission.

November: Gratefulness

As the holiday season rushes in, this series will be all about how to pause and practice gratefulness.

December: Advent

Let the gratitude of our previous season lead our hearts to a time of preparation.

IMPORTANT STUFF TO KNOW

When selecting essays for inclusion, preference is usually given to existing members of The Banquet. You always retain rights to your essay; however, only original material will be accepted, and we ask that you withhold publishing anywhere else any essay we accept for a minimum of 6 months. Obviously, please only submit writing that is your own.

Devotionals should include an introductory paragraph, and then a short, daily entry based on a related scripture. Keep in mind that if you would like to submit a devotional for consideration, we strongly prefer an entire month's series for continuity's sake. However, we'll consider a week long devotional in some cases.

What you get

Right now, we are not able to pay for essays (we hope that will change soon!), however, your essay will include your headshot, bio, and a link to whatever website you'd like us to link to. You'll also be included in our social media marketing efforts, which will help grow your exposure. If there is an offer that you'd like to make to our readers (we suggest a free offer to help you build your list) we will review that as well, and include it as long as it makes sense.

Ready to submit? complete this form to get started.

Please note: We will do our best to respond to all submissions, but we can not guarantee it. If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks, please feel free to submit your work elsewhere. And don't be discouraged! We only take 4 essays and 4 Devotional series per month -- that's not a lot. That doesn't mean your work is not excellent, nor does it mean we don't love you! We suggest you continue to be a member of The Banquet, keep reading, and keep submitting.